This exploratory study investigated the effect of visiting therapy dogs on college-student perceived and physiological stress the week prior to final exams. Students ( n=78) were randomly assigned to order of a therapy-dog intervention and attention-control condition, each 15 minutes long....

The present research examines relationships between people and their pets through the lens of the Rusbult Investment Model. The Rusbult Investment Model identifies important antecedents to commitment in a relationship: satisfaction with the relationship, quality of alternatives to the...

Training nonhuman animals in captivity for participation in routine husbandry procedures is believed to produce a lower stress environment compared with undergoing a general anesthetic event for the same procedure. This hypothesis rests largely on anecdotal evidence that the captive subjects...

Improving operational performances of working dog-human dyads is receiving more and more attention. Despite this interest, the associations between human personality, dog personality, dog-human personality matching and dyad performances have rarely been addressed. This study explores the links...

Dogs' responsiveness to instructions of the handler is known to be influenced by several factors. In this study we examined whether reward-handler dissociation has an effect on the obedience performance of family dogs with basic training history. We looked at situations involving human-dog...

The domestic cat is now one of the most common pet species in the Western world. As part of its role as a pet, cats are expected to not only tolerate but enjoy being touched. This study consisted of two experiments, with the first investigating the influence of body region touched and handler...

Human attachment representations are shaped in interaction with the primary caregiver and are generally transferred to further bonding/social partners later in life. According to previous evidence, primary attachment representations acquired with humans do not seem to be transferred to companion...

The quality of the relationship between cattle and their caretakers is important for animal welfare and productivity. Nevertheless, the influence of gentle interactions on group-housed dairy calves has not been thoroughly studied so far. We examined the effects of 42 min of gentle interactions...

The flight distance from humans and the reaction of the mother to human handling of their offspring are measures that can be used to assess the quality of the human-animal relationship which could vary according to animals' position in a group. The objective was to determine if the flight...

Although the relationship between farm animals and humans has strong implications for animal welfare and productivity, there have been few experimental studies on the influence of gentle interactions in group-housed calves. In the present study, Austrian Simmental calves were housed in groups of...

Adolescents are the next generation of consumers with the potential to raise standards of farm animal welfare - to their satisfaction - if their preferences and concerns are translated into accurate market drivers and signals. There are no published data about adolescent views of farm animal...

Few studies have examined how personality traits may be related to the amounts and types of attachments humans have toward companion animals (pets). In this study, 1,098 companion animal guardians (owners) completed a survey that included the Big Five Inventory, the Lexington Attachment to Pets...

Few studies have examined how personality traits may be related to the amounts and types of attachments humans have toward companion animals (pets). In this study, 1,098 companion animal guardians (owners) completed a survey that included the Big Five Inventory, the Lexington Attachment to Pets...

Previous studies have reported the negative impacts of tourism on nonhuman primates (NHPs) and tourists and advocated the improvement of tourism management, yet what constitutes good quality management remains unclear. We explored whether rates of macaque aggression and self-directed behaviors...

Human-animal interactions (HAI), which may lead to human-animal relationships (HAR), may be positive, neutral, or negative in nature. Zoo studies show that visitors may be stressful, may have no effect, or may be enriching. There is also evidence that good HARs set up between animals and their...

Research on the relationship between humans and animals has identified some links between companion animals and physiological, psychological, and social benefits for the human. Adopting Robert Weiss's (1974) Theory of Social Provisions as a framework, this qualitative study explores the role of...